Forbidden Clouds
by Lady Maestro
Summary: Let's make a deal, shall we? You become Akatsuki's medic and we will leave the Kyuubi and Konoha alone.If you disagree, We will launch a fullscale attack. Sakura has to make a decision that will change her life when she gets captured.Itasaku. CHAPTER 1 UP
1. Prologue

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Author's notes: Yo! Well this is my first attempt at a fanfic so be nice yeah? It's only a prologue so it's kinda short but it will get longer in subsequent chapters. Apologies for bad English and grammer if there are any. My English isn't very good

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**Prologue**

To say that Haruno Sakura was tired would be a terrible understatement. The pink-haired kunoichi could hardly stand, let alone walk. There would be nothing more that she would like to do than collapse on the ground and sleep. Screw danger. No one messes with her when she's exhausted. Yet she couldn't. Walking up ahead with seemingly endless amounts of energy was Naruto, who after more than a day's worth of tracking was still bubbly and excited. And then there was Kakashi-sensei. There was not a single sign of exhaustion on his face, his eyes never leaving the small orange book in his hand. The last thing Sakura wanted was for her team to coddle her and treat her like an invalid. She had gone past that stage a long time ago. She didn't want to start again.

She should have been excited about their mission like Naruto. And he did have a good reason to be excited too. This particular mission was the last part of their jounin exam. It was relatively easy – Assess and stop some disturbances taking place in the south of Suna. It was nothing big, except for taking out some rogue ninjas. And now they were heading home. Kakashi, who was by chance their examiner, had told them that they had passed and were now unofficially rookie jounin. There was to be a ceremony in the Hokage's office when they got back.

They were the last of the remaining rookie eight (not counting Sasuke) to become jounin. The reason was simple: Naruto had to pass his chunin exam first and Sakura wanted to build up her strength. After that, they basically waited for each other to be ready and took the exams together. It was no secret that Sakura and Naruto had become inseparably close. To Naruto, she was the closest thing to a sister and to Sakura, he was like her mischievous fox brother. At the age of 17, they both had come a long way from their early days as rookie genin. The biggest difference was that Sasuke wasn't there with them.

Sasuke. His name brought a bitter smile to Sakura's face. Her feelings were for the dark-haired avenger was slowly dissolving to dust. Two years ago, he had been due to be a container for Orochimaru. Sakura didn't know what had happened to them. They had mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Even the sound nins were gone. Not a single sound genin had turned up for the Chunin exam for two years nor were there any sign of activity. Whether Sasuke was alive or not she did not know. They had grieved for Sasuke two years ago. It was easier to treat him as dead. They wouldn't forgive him if he came back now. The Akatsuki were strangely quiet as well. Tsunade had been expecting them to try to kidnap Naruto but they had disappeared as quietly as the sound nins. Of course, life was peaceful after that but a sense of wariness still hung in the air. The lesson was clear: anything can happen anytime. Yet Sakura couldn't help but take advantage of the peacefulness. She wanted it to go on forever.

It was then when Kakashi finally stopped a protesting Naruto and told set up camp there. Sakura was extremely grateful. She would have collapsed if they had continued any further.

OoOoOoOoO

Not far from their camping site, two ninjas clad in long black cloaks were observing the scene below them from a tree. The red clouds on their cloaks were fairly obvious and the taller of the two has a large sword on his back. If anyone would have seen them, they would have looked like predators taking their time and observing their prey. Their intentions were obviously less than innocent.

"Is that her?"

"Ah."

"Doesn't seem like much, does she, Itachi-san?"

"Don't underestimate your enemies, Kisame."

"Yeah yeah. When do we make a move?"

"We wait till the kyuubi and Hatake Kakashi to fall asleep. Then we will take her."

Kisame grinned.

"The kunoichi won't know what hit her."

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Well, how was it? Lame? Boring? Whatever it is, I would like to have some constructive criticism and advice and I might edit this chapter. So see the little blue button at the bottom? Clickity-click! 


	2. Unpleasant Awakenings

Author's Note: Whoo! I actually didn't expect to get any reviews for the prologue so you guys left me pleasantly surprised! I don't have the time to respond to your reviews now since I'm actually only allowed to access the computer on weekends. (Yes, I'm sneaking right now) So, the next chapter won't come up till perhaps on Sunday. I'm very grateful for the reviews. Keep 'em coming!

I'm actually not satisfied with this chapter. It sounded better in my head. Well, you guys read it and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: If Naruto were mine, it would suck big time. So let's all thank Kami-sama it isn't.

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Chapter 1: Unpleasent Awakenings 

Never would have Kakashi ever expected anything to happen to Sakura. It made him feel guilty admitting it but as strong as Sakura would become, she had always been the weakest in their team. Perhaps it wasn't her fault considering that everyone else in Team Seven had some sort of special ability. Naruto had the Kyuubi's chakra while he had his Sharingan. Granted, his sharingan wasn't even natural but it helped. And wasn't he by some standards a prodigy? It wasn't fair to call Sakura weak but next to them it seemed like that.

It also made Kakashi relieved. It meant that enemies tended to underestimate the pink-haired kunoichi and overlook her potential. That was what usually kept Sakura safe from the ridiculously strong enemies' that Team 7 had been collecting courtesy of Naruto and Sasuke. So he could never have imagined anyone wanting to kidnap her for any reason whatsoever.

The mission had exhausted her, he could tell. So even though it was her turn to keep night watch, he offered to do it for her. She had accepted gratefully before, to his amusement, collapsing into her tent. Naruto had wasted no time as well and Kakashi had to wack the boy occasionally to prevent his loud snoring. The night was relatively peaceful but Kakashi knew better than to let his guard down. It was very tempting though to return to his tent and repeat Sakura's actions. Instead, he stared into the embers of the dying fire, comtemplating. God, he hadn't had a good night's slee-

Kakashi sprang up from his sitting position, alert with a kunai in his hand. He lifted up his headband to reveal his sharingan. It was very faint but it was there, two very familiar chakra signatures. Eyes widened as he realized who they belonged to.

"Oi, Itachi-san, we miscalculated. The scarecrow hasn't gone to sleep yet."

Kakashi turned around and flung the kunai towards the sound of Kisame's voice. There was a clang as it hit against the sharkman's sword. He couldn't make them clearly out in the dark but the fact that there was a pair of sharingan eyes not far from where he was standing told him all he needed to know.

"My, that wasn't very polite, wasn't it, Itachi-san?"

"Kisame, I will handle him. Concentrate on getting our goal."

Kakashi stiffened immediately. They were after Naruto! He tried to position himself in front of Naruto's tent but-

"Too slow."

Kakashi winced in pain. Itachi had appeared behind him and stabbed him with a kunai.

"I had hoped that you would have been more challenging after two years, Kakashi-san. But apparently not."

There was another jolt of pain at Kakashi's side before he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. It was unfortunate that he didn't manage to see Kisame emerging from Sakura's tent with her limp figure over his shoulder and the two missing nins taking off into the night, their mission easily accomplished.

OoOoOoOoO

"What happened?"

Tsunade's voice was calm, but there was a biting edge in it. Naruto flinched. It was unfortunate for him that Kakashi-sensei had to be admitted into the hospital. He was the only one left to give a report in front of the Hokage and Sakura's parents and closest friend. It was already hard enough for him that he had actually slept soundly throughout the kidnapping. What if Kakashi-sensei had died? Naruto shuddered at the thought. Losing Sakura was hard enough. He fell deep into thought, guilt overwhelming him. He had panicked when he woke up and found Sakura missing and Kakashi unconscious and wounded. Tsunade realized that the unusually quiet boy was berating himself inside for not saving his closest friends. She repeated her question in a more gentle tone.

"Naruto, what happened?"

Naruto bit his lip nervously. Sakura's mother was sobbing in the corner, while Ino and Haruno-san were staring at him. How was he to explain that he had slept throughout Sakura's kidnapping? Tsunade would _kill _him. He sighed in resignation and began his report.

"We were returning home from the mission you assigned us, baa-chan. We set up camp and Kakashi-sensei offered to keep watch in place of Sakura-chan as she was exhausted. I fell asleep after setting up camp and when I woke up, Sakura-chan was gone and Kakashi-sensei was unconscious on the ground, wounded. I brought Kakashi-sensei home to treat his wounds."

There was silence after Naruto finished his report and he waited with baited breath for her response. Tsunade finally sighed wearily.

"That doesn't tell us much about what happened to Sakura. We will wait for Kakashi to awake and report to us. I will summon all of you again. Until then, you are all dismissed."

OoOoOoOoO

Haruno Sakura did not want to wake up. Well, you wouldn't too if you were sleeping on a soft comfortable bed with warm sheets and soft pillows beneath your-

Wait, what bed?!

Sakura jerked up immediately, her bright green orbs opening wide. She took in her surroundings, surprised. She was lying on a large four poster bed with maroon sheets. The room she was in was lavishly decorated, with a wardrobe, a dressing table and a desk to match the bed. There was an open door, leading to what seemed to be the bathroom. And-

"You're awake, yeah!"

Sakura slowly turned and faced the figure sitting on the chair next to her bed. And found herself facing a familiar grinning feminine looking blonde male with half his face covered by his face, wearing a black cloak with red clouds. Sakura felt time stop, and then,

"ARRGH!!!"

The blonde hastily clamped his hand over her mouth, shutting her up He looked around nervously.

"Shush up, will you! You're damn noisy, yeah!"

Sakura simply glared at him fiercely and attempted to bite his hand, causing him to withdraw.

"Where am I?! How the hell did I end up here?!!"

The blonde glared back at her.

"If you keep on shouting, don't blame me if Itachi comes in, yeah."

That sentence promptly shut Sakura up. Uchiha Itachi?! Oh Kami-sama, that wasn't good news at all. She had obviously been captured by Akatsuki and was currently in a room with the same person who killed Gaara with ease two years ago. The blonde smirked as Sakura began to tremble.

"That shut you up good, didn't it? I guess it's time for a formal introduction now. I'm Deidara. I watched over you while you were asleep. Orders from above."

He offered her hand, and when she did not take it, he dropped it to his side. It was obvious that he didn't know what to do. He stood beside the bed staring at her awkwardly as she sat against her pillows with her knees against her chest shivering. It was then that the door opened and a maid walked in and bowed before the two.

"I beg your pardon, Deidara-sama. Itachi-sama sent me to assist the guest in preparing for dinner."

Sakura gawked, her depression forgotten. Akatsuki had _maids_? Come to think of it, the room she was in was extremely lavish for some missing nins to have. She stared at Deidara's cloak curiously. It was definitely made of expensive material. How the heck did they manage to acquire the money? Before she could ask Deidara, he mumbled something about meeting her at dinner and slipped out of the room quietly. Sakura immediately remembered the maid's words and her eyes widened in panic.

What dinner?!

The maid must noticed her expression for she said smoothly,

"Itachi-sama says that whatever questions you have will be answered during the dinner."

Sakura finally took full notice of the maid. She was rather pretty, with dark eyes and long brown hair, which was tied up into a neat bun at the back of her head. She was wearing a dark blue yukata with a white apron over it. She bowed to Sakura again.

"My name is Hitomi, Haruno-sama. I will be assisting you in preparation for the dinner in the evening."

Without another word, Hitomi strode over to the large wardrobe and drew the doors open. Sakura gasped. The wardrobe was filled with kimono and Akatsuki cloaks. Sakura got off the bed and strode over to the wardrobe. She fingered the garments breathlessly. Being a Kunoichi, she could hardly wear those kinds of clothing and even when she did, they weren't as half as grand as the kimono currently resting in the wardrobe. They were practically begging her to wear them. Being a hostage of Akatsuki didn't sound half as bad now.

Over the next two hours, Sakura obeyed Hitomi in a daze as she ordered her to get in the tub, and scrubbed, groomed and dressed her merticulously. Oils were massaged thoroughly onto her scalp, making her pink hair shine and softer than it had ever been before ( That was saying something). Lotion was applied to her already soft skin and Hitomi dressed her in the many layers of her kimono, tying her obi expertly. It was a very pale pink, decorated with cherry blossom motifs at the end. The obi was white, matching the lovely garment.

The end result left Sakura shocked. She had never been very fond of her looks and body but she had to grudgingly admit that she looked good. Hitomi stood beside her as she stared at herself in the mirror, admiring her work. Sakura's hair was tied up into a messy bun at the back of her head, with a few loose tendrils. She didn't wear any makeup but the facials done on her gave her a bright glowing look. The kimono brought out her curves nicely, framing her petite body. She looked _good_.

Still in a daze, she followed Hitomi as she led her out of the bedroom and down some dark corridors. She was dimly aware that it was already late evening. When Hitomi stopped at a large-double door, she remembered what she was about to face: Dinner with the Akatsuki. Panic overwhelmed her once again. What the hell was she doing, willingly dressing up like a doll to have _dinner_ with a bunch of murderers?! Hitomi placed a comforting hand on her back.

"They won't hurt you, Haruno-sama. They're waiting for you inside."

Sakura took a deep breath and nodded. Well, she didn't spend two hours pain for nothing. She might as well get over it. Hitomi opened the large doors and Sakura stepped inside the brightly lit room bravely. She would face whatever comes, just to get her many questions answered.

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I'm afraid that's it's rushed. But I'll try to make up for it in the next chapter. The review button is smiling at you. Click it. You'll make someone happy! 

Ja ne for now!


	3. Dinner with Deals

Author's Note: Alright, it's been a _long_ time huh? Gomen! But it came to the point where almost anything electronic was banned from usage over here at home and I was really busy with my exams and studies. And well, life got in the way. 'nough said.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything related to it. Sadly.

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The room was lavishly decorated. Who knew that the Akatsuki had wealth _and_ taste? There was a long table in the centre of the room with matching comfortable looking chairs. The whole thing practically screamed luxury. 

Wait.

Sakura blinked.

Then she blinked again and rubbed her eyes, before peering our warily from between her fingers.

"That's funny. I can only see the Uchiha bastard in here."

Said Uchiha bastard smirked from his position at the head of the dining table. He was dressed rather casually, in a black shirt and pants, looking dastardly handsome and arrogantly bored. He raised an eyebrow at her, still looking ever so elegant and Sakura inwardly cursed the Uchiha brothers for being so darn good looking…

…wait, _what?_

"Take a seat, Haruno-san. We have important matters to discuss."

It was then that Sakura notice that a place had been set up at the far end of the long table, directly opposite Itachi. She glared at the male but he didn't say anything. She gingerly moved into the room and sat down. She glared at the male again who had the audacity to look indifferent.

"I was informed that I would be having dinner with the Akatsuki, not _you_."

"So you'd rather have dinner with a group of dangerous missing-nins than be content with just one? I'll take note, Haruno-san."

Sakura blanched, a furious blush rising to her cheeks.

"I'd prefer them to you anytime!" she snapped.

To her anger, this only seemed to amuse the usually stoic male.

"You are acting like a child Haruno-san. I find quite hard to believe that you were trembling in my presence merely a few hours ago."

If Sakura had been angry before, she was definitely seething now. The audacity of that man! Before she could retort however, the door opened and two servants came in, carrying trays of food. They laid them down in front of Sakura who could only stare in wonder at the delicious delicacies being put in front of her, the Uchiha forgotten.

She had only ever seen such expensive food in pictures and had never tasted it before. Yet a bunch of dangerous S-class nins had the privilege of such luxuries? For a brief moment, the thought of joining was _very_ tempting. Hell, even the plate and cutleries were _gold_.

"I assume that you are hungry Haruno-san. Please eat."

It was a polite invitation but he might as well have ordered her to eat. For a moment, Sakura was tempted to act childishly by refusing to eat and sticking her tongue out at the arrogant bastard. Just as she was about to execute this plan, her stomach decided to rebel and let out a loud growl.

Damn.

Her cheeks coloured immediately and she refused to look up at the Uchiha who was without a doubt smirking. Instead, she picked up the heavy fork and gingerly picked at the food, suddenly feeling wary.

What if it was poisoned?

"If I had wanted to kill you Haruno-san, I would not have gone through the trouble of bringing you here and ordering servants to dress you up."

_Oh._

Sakura flushed once again (she needed to stop that!) and took a bite before looking up at her captor. He seemed satisfied and began eating as well, much to the female's surprise. She didn't think that he would actually relax in her presence. This annoyed her as he obviously didn't consider her as a threat.

Well, she wasn't but _really_!

It had to be the most uncomfortable dinner Sakura had ever had in all her eighteen years. She inwardly groaned as she reflected back on her behaviour previously. She had made a fool out of herself! If anyone had told her that she would be dressed like a noble and having an exquisite dinner with Uchiha Itachi, she would have laughed at them. Then she would punch them.

She noted that Itachi didn't seem to bother about her discomfort and seemed quite relaxed about the situation. He ate leisurely and quite aristocratically if she could say. And he definitely took his time. By the time she was done he was still eating.

She began to fidget around on her chair uncomfortably. The previous boldness she had felt before was gone and there was a sense of growing nervousness and dread in the pit of her stomach. If Itachi noticed anything he certainly ignored it. In fact, Sakura could have sworn that he was purposely prolonging to enjoy her discomfort.

By the time he was done, Sakura was a near nervous wreck. He must have had some button beneath the table or something because the same two servants immediately appeared to remove the plates. While this was done, Sakura was aware of the stoic male observing her and looked down. When the servants finally left, Itachi spoke.

"I suppose you wish to know the reason you are here?"

Sakura's head snapped up immediately to look at the male. He seemed bored with his elbow resting on the table supporting his head while he lazily twirled a glass of blood red wine in the other hand with a casual air of elegance. He didn't wait for her to answer and spoke again.

"I will get to the point Haruno-san. The Akatsuki has need of your talent as a medic."

Sakura's jaw dropped and she stared at the male incredulously. Then, she began to laugh. Itachi seemed quite unperturbed and merely glanced at her, waiting for her laughter to subside and for her to speak.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, catching her breath. "But you seem to be under the impression that I was going to agree to that."

Itachi merely raised his brow at her. Sakura frowned at him.

"You should know, Itachi-san that I would rather die than work for the Akatsuki."

"You seem to think that we are offering you this position Haruno-san. This is not an offer. Let me rephrase it for you. You _will_ be Akatsuki's medic like it or not!"

Sakura was outraged.

"W-what?!"

"Let's make a deal kunoichi. You agree to be Akatsuki's medic and we leave Naruto and Konoha alone. If you fail to comply, we will launch a full-scale on your beloved Konoha and we will _not_ hesitate to destroy everything."

Sakura was horrified. It didn't help that Itachi was being so damn _casual_ about it, as though he threatened to destroy hidden villages on a daily basis.

Did he?

"You can't fool me!" she snarled. "You _need_ Naruto for the kyuubi! And you won't go through the trouble of destroying an entire village just to get me as your medic!"

To her agitation, Itachi merely smirked at her.

"It's true that we wouldn't waste our time on a normal circumstance. But times change and you would be a perfect excuse to test the power and strength of the tailed beasts."

Sakura suddenly found it hard to breathe.

_It couldn't be._

"Y-you have caught the eight tailed beasts already?!"

Itachi merely inclined his head.

_Oh god._

"E-even then, the kyuubi is more powerful than the rest! You c-can't _possibly_ think that you would win against Konoha!"

"Yes, the kyuubi will destroy us if set free. But the real question, kunoichi, is that are you willing to sacrifice Naruto to break the seal? We _know _what happens when Naruto calls upon the kyuubi. Even then, can you control the beast? Remove the seal and you destroy your own village."

She began to tremble because _it was true_.

"Have you ever wondered what happened to Sound, kunoichi?"

She stiffened immediately.

"Have you ever wondered the sudden disappearance of the sound nins? Or the complete inactivity of Orochimaru?"

"W-what did y-you _do_ to them?!"

Itachi observed the petite female in front of him. She was shaking and her breathing was heavy, close to pants. She was practically hyper-ventilating.

"Let's just say that we decided to have a trial run with the beasts and Sound was the test subject."

"A-and w-what about S-s-sasuke-kun?"

Itachi found himself rather annoyed with the affectionate suffix attached to his irritating brother's name by the pink-haired female.

"Sasuke-_chan_ is assumed to be dead. His body was never found. Perhaps Orochimaru had already devoured him and died along with the snake, we do not know."

Sakura felt a tiny flare of hope at the thought that there was a chance that Sasuke just _might_ be alive. But her thoughts were immediately pulled back to the current situation when Itachi spoke.

"Do we have a deal, Haruno-san?"

It was clear that he wanted to settle the matter.

Sakura thought about the matter carefully. She knew that she would do _anything_ to keep her beloved friend safe. Was there any real thinking to it? Sakura had already made the decision the moment the threat was made.

"If I accept, you swear that you will leave Naruto and Konoha alone?"

"Yes, unless it is to defend ourselves."

"Don't you _dare_ break this de-

There was a dull thud as a kunai narrowly streaked past her and hit the wall behind.

Sakura sat shell-shocked, her mouth opened in a silent 'o' and staring at the Uchiha who had barely moved at all.

In fact, she could swear that he _didn't_ move.

She had forgotten that she was dealing with someone who had single-handedly murdered his entire family without any misgivings. She suddenly felt very stupid and foolish.

"Do not forget your place kunoichi," he hissed, and the room suddenly felt colder.

"You are not in a position to make demands."

For a few moments, they merely stared at each other and to her shame, Sakura was trembling throughout.

Finally, Itachi stood up, setting down the wine glass.

"I will send Hitomi to you. She shall be your attendant. You can start work tomorrow by gathering information of each Akatsuki member to begin health records. We have prepared a room which you will be shown to tomorrow."

He then strode towards the door briskly, passing Sakura and left the room.

True to his word, Hitomi entered the room shortly, only to be flustered by the fact that the pink-haired kunoichi was sitting stock-still in her chair silent save for the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

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It's rather short but it's really all I've got for now. I really sorry to my reviewers but I honestly haven't got time to respond to your reviews, I really will try to respond this chapter's reviews. 

MANGA SPOILER AHEAD!!

Yeah, anyway, this story can be considered AU already since the whole Pein thing and the fact that Itachi is actually dead. WAILS Actually, anyone could tell that it was coming but hell, didn't stop me from wishing that it didn't! I am only comforted by the fact that Sasuke didn't kill him and he totally went in style. But still, damn. Gives me more reason to dislike Sasuke anyway.

SPOILER OVER

I can't promise when the next chapter will be out but it probably won't be soon and I'm actually planning on re-writing chapter 2. I'll see how it goes.

Bye for now!


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